Andy Landers recently passed 850 wins for his Georgia women’s basketball head coaching career. He’s been to five Final Fours and 31 consecutive NCAA Tournaments. He knows the road that leads to Elite, and each season, he demands nothing less from the Bulldogs.

This was in evidence at the customary end-of-year player evaluations, held last spring. Though Georgia had once again gone dancing in 2013-14, Landers quickly tempered the “four starters returning theory” bandied about by prognosticators looking ahead to 2014-15.

“The first thing anybody says is that we have four starters coming back,” Landers said in Georgia’s media guide. “Why? How is that important? We told them at the end of last year that we don’t have any starters coming back. We have people returning from a team that didn’t achieve at the highest level. So, let’s start over. Let’s put together a team that can achieve at the highest level.”

Landers reaffirmed this, in quintessential measured tone, during a phone conversation with SLAM last week. “I didn’t want people who had started last season to come back thinking they’d accomplished what needed to be accomplished the year before, and that they had some sense of entitlement to playing time. We sent that message very clearly. If the same people end up in starting positions, so be it. If it’s the opposite, so be it. We wanted to put a team on the floor that better reflected what Georgia basketball has stood for in the past.”

Bulldogs junior Shacobia Barbee, a 5-10 guard from Murfreesborough, TN, didn’t need any extra motivation. That 10-point loss to St. Joseph’s in the Big Dance’s first round? Stung, quite deeply.

Barbee’s been contributing since she was named a starter for her very first game as a Bulldog. There’s a throwback nature to her demeanor, but her game is all 21st-century full-freighted impact. Ever-improving consistency from deep, a mixture of deft and power when she finishes at the rim.

Or spotlight, as Barbee proved quite emphatically during the most crucial moments of her freshman season.

The Bulldogs’ senior trio of Jasmine James, Jasmine Hassell and Anne-Marie Armstrong grabbed headlines during a run to the 2013 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, and rightly so, but it was Barbee who surprised with some scintillating performances. She became the first Georgia freshman since Theresa Edwards in ’83 to be named to an All-Region team.

In Georgia’s season-ending defeat to Cal, Barbee grabbed a double-double. She played 41 minutes in the OT thriller. She recognizes now how much that run meant for her. How much those three seniors showed her how to conduct herself, how to interpret advice. Flush out any perceived negativity, listen to the message.

“They taught me how to be a better leader,” Barbee says.

“Here’s what you need to know about Shacobia: She listens as well as any player I’ve ever coached,” says Landers. “Not only does she have that gift, but she has a discipline about her. She hears you, she understands you, and she processes what she’s heard.”

Landers calls Barbee a playmaker at both ends of the floor, and lauds her ability to effectively contribute to the flow of the game. “There are very few players in college basketball who do that,” Landers says. “And the cool thing about ‘Cobi’ is, after making a play, she can anticipate exactly what should come next. She turns defense into instantaneous offense.”

There’s always an accompanying statistic to Barbee—something that further stamps her effectiveness. In ’13-14, she led Georgia with 12.2 points—but she became the first player in program history to lead the team in points rebounds (7.9), assists (3.6) and steals (2.6).

Through the first 12 games of this season, all wins for Georgia, Barbee has averaged a team-best 13.9 points on 50 percent shooting. The scoring is great, but Landers points to other parts of her game. And it is exactly that which explains why she is one of the country’s best.

She’s grabbing 7.1 rebounds per game. A third of her boards come on the offensive end. She’s contributing 3 assists, against just 1.4 turnovers. Her 2.9 steals help key Georgia’s stifling pressure defense, which many opposing coaches have labeled “rattling.”

“Our defense is the heart of our team,” says Barbee. “We focused on that from the first couple days of practice. We disrupt teams, and it gets our offense going.”

Landers lauds her leadership, and notes how its helped contribute to a dynamic among the group that’s “clear as a glass of water.” Since summer, he can’t remember hearing a single negative thing said. In August, the team took a tour of Italy. The camaraderie developed during those weeks abroad has yet to dissipate. If anything, it’s been bolstered.

“We come to the gym, and we’re in good moods,” Landers says. “We go to work, we get work done—we work extremely hard—and then we leave in a good mood. There’s nothing going on to muddy the water.”

After that 850th win, which came in his home state against his alma mater, Tennessee Tech, Landers told reporters, “Let’s make sure we get the record straight. These aren’t my wins. They belong to a lot of people. I’ve been at Georgia for 36 years so, yeah, that piece is mine. But the wins, the first one in 1979 all the way through tonight, those belong to a lot of people other than me.”

Players like Barbee. Though she suffered a slight injury in Georgia’s December 10 win over Michigan State, and did not participate in the next few practices, she was by no means idle. Minds like hers stay humming.

Landers remembers running through a play for Barbee’s fellow junior, Tiaria Griffin. The ball would swing around the perimeter for Griffin, who’d step into a three. But as they ran it in practice, Landers had a thought about some possible tinkering. He mentioned to Barbee that she would need to make the key cut in the play. He saw the eyes flutter, the recognition registering immediately.

So you want me to pop out and be the shooter.

“I’m constantly reevaluating everything that we do to see if there’s some way I can ease her into a scenario where she touches the ball on offense,” Landers says. “The second piece about that play I designed: I told her if there’s no shot open, she’d have to make a play.”

Two years ago, Barbee might have shied away from that responsibility. Now, she turned toward Landers, and nodded her head. She got it.

In Georgia’s next game, a 58-51 win over Furman on December 20, Barbee had 5 steals by halftime. She poured in 19 points after the break to finish with 25, in addition to 12 boards, seven of which were offensive.

During her freshman season, Barbee participated with her teammates in a series of history assignments, handed out by Landers. She researched Georgia’s records against certain teams, learned why rivalries had developed with others.

It didn’t take long for Barbee to understand the reasoning behind the task, how Landers was trying to give her a better sense of the program she represented. She channeled those frissons of insight on to the court.

When Dominique Wilkins gets to the Starbucks for our 10 a.m. chat, he looks pretty tired. The 2006 Hall of Famer inductee does have a day job, ya know? As a TV analyst with the Atlanta Hawks, the always-traveling Wilkins probably gets his personal mail sent to the airport. The day before the interview he was in San Antonio. Three nights after it, he’s scheduled to be in Philly.

But on this day before the NCAA Title game, ‘Nique is in the A, fighting off exhaustion because he and the All State NABC Good Works Team have partnered for a basketball clinic where they’ll work with 75 local Special Olympics athletes in various drills and activities. And to Wilkins’ credit, when he speaks on that important subject, his basketball legacy or the Hawks’ season, the nine-time All-Star is wide awake.

SLAM: Tell us a little bit about All State and the Special Olympics. Why are you involved in this?

Dominique Wilkins: Well, any time I can get involved in something that is community-based and giving back, I’m always up for that. And what All State is doing is really kind of teaming up with some of these college players who also have gotten awards for what they do in their communities. This All State team that they’ve put together has been very positive, and then when you add that you’re working with Special Olympic kids, it’s just a right fit.

SLAM: I know all this is revolving around the Final Four and whatnot. When you were at Georgia, you guys didn’t make the Tournament. Do you feel like that is a part of life you kind of missed out on?

DW: Not really. But, you know, it’s always great to be a part of college sports. If you’re fortunate to get to the Final Four—which they went to the Final Four the year after I left—it is great for our school’s history. But just being a part of college basketball period is a blessing in itself, and if you happen to get further in the NCAA Tournaments, it’s great. It was a great experience for me. It really prepared me for the NBA.

SLAM: When you look at what is going on with UGA right now, what does coach Mark Fox need to do to change the culture?

DW: Gotta get players. It’s as simple as that. They haven’t been able to get a lot of the players here in Georgia to stay in school in Georgia. A lot of them go outside of the state. But it would be great if they could get some of those kids to go to school at the university.

SLAM: You see the Hawks more than most people with your coverage. What do you think about this transitioning season? How would you rate them this year?

DW: I think very well, very good. No one ever expected us to be this far. As a matter of fact, they didn’t have us in the Playoffs. So, to be at this point of the season is a blessing for us. But it shows you how good a job Coach [Larry] Drew has done, you know, with the guys he had, you know, getting rid of some, your main pieces, particularly Joe Johnson. So, [the organization] replaced him with shooters and guys who really bought into his system.

SLAM: What’s the toughest part about the broadcasting world?

DW: Really, that’s the easiest job I’ve ever had—broadcasting. I mean, because basically you’re commentating, you’re articulating stuff you already know. Stuff you’ve been a part of your whole life. You are just putting it in more of a structured form. It has been really pretty easy.

SLAM: Of course, we just got word that Bernard King and Gary Payton will be joining you in the Hall.

DW: And well deserved. Bernard King should have been in years ago, probably six, seven years ago he should have been in the Hall of Fame. The fact that he is in there now is great. Never too late for the Hall of Fame, believe me. Gary Payton, everybody knew was going to be a Hall of Fame player. That’s no secret. So, it’s not a surprise. I really want to give a congratulation to both of those guys, particularly Bernard King, because of all the time he had to wait to get in, and it is well deserved.

SLAM: Is there anything that we can do to make the Dunk Contest relevant again?

DW: Well, you’ve got to get the best players in it. Simple as that. You got to get the big names. The big names get in it, you wouldn’t be able to sell a ticket because it would be sold out.

SLAM: Why are the bigger names avoiding it?

DW: That’s a good question. I wish I could tell you. Guys, for one reason or another, just don’t want to get in anymore. I mean, they feel like it’s a waste of their time, or whatever they want to call it. They just don’t want to do it anymore.

SLAM: You weren’t scared of Michael Jordan or Larry Nance or…

DW: A lot of these guys don’t want to know who the best is. That’s the simple fact on it.

SLAM: Of course, your game goes well beyond the dunking highlights and all that. What aspect of it do you wish more people would recognize?

DW: My all-around game. It’s a funny thing because, even when I went in the Hall of Fame, they announced me as a two-time winner of the slam dunk contest. I tell people all the time I scored over 26,000 points in this League and I didn’t get them all on dunks. I found creative ways to score. People didn’t just let you walk around and land a dunk. I had games where I had 40-plus points and never got a dunk in the game. I just want people to recognize that I had a complete game, an all-around game. But when you’re a high flyer…

SLAM: …That’s all they see.

DW: You look at LeBron, when you see highlights, the only one you see of LeBron is dunk, dunk, dunk, dunk. LeBron does a whole lot more than that. And they know that. Sometimes you like to see him passing or see him finger roll or something else different than just dunking. But unfortunately, when you’re a high flyer, that’s what they show.

SLAM: Beyond LeBron and Kobe, who excites you the most right now?

DW: Carmelo [Anthony]. Carmelo is an unbelievable player. [Dwyane] Wade. [Kevin] Durant. You know, a lot of young guys. That young kid [Damian] Lillard, out in Portland. He’s going to be something. There are a lot of guys like that. One of the guys who hasn’t played all year is Derrick Rose. I love the way he plays.

ESPN Films has unquestionably branded itself as the leader in sports movies with their 30 For 30 series. But in 2011 it also launched the SEC “Storied” Series, which focuses on remarkable events from the Southeastern Conference, like the Sam Bowie documentary, Going Big. The latest installment, Miracle 3, documents the 2008 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Of course if there is a movie about the tournament, it likely has to do with some type of crazy upset or incredible story—or both.

Miracle 3 chronicles the unexpected events, starting with the final moments of the Friday night quarterfinal between Alabama and Mississippi State and the extraordinary 48 hours that follow. Mykal Riley’s three-point buzzer beater tied the game for Alabama and sent it into overtime, yet halfway through the extra frame, the first tornado to ever strike downtown Atlanta literally rocked the Georgia Dome. The storm and its 130-mile per hour winds not only temporarily suspended game play, but caused structural damage to the Dome, making it unfit to host the rest of the tournament. More importantly, if the game hadn’t gone into overtime, over 20,000 fans would be spilling into downtown Atlanta in the midst of a natural disaster unprepared.

The interviews with players, coaches, meteorologists and organizers, plus archival footage put the gravity of the damage in perspective, all which could have been a movie in itself. But there was still the matter of basketball to be played, and the SEC had to find a new venue to host the tournament the next morning. The last quarterfinal game between Georgia and Kentucky, which was postponed due to the tornado, would now force one of those teams to play two games in the same day, which was unheard of. The Georgia Bulldogs, who finished last in the conference, would do whatever was necessary—they needed to win it all, in order to earn the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The drama in the film intensifies with therecounting of each game starting with Georgia’s overtime upset against Kentucky, then again with their victory over Mississippi State only hours later. Which sets the stage for the SEC championship matchup versus Arkansas, for their third game in 30 hours. Yet, more impressive than the Bulldog’s run, was their influence, particularly what it meant to Georgians affected by the tornado. Mike Turner lost his wife; his home and suffered significant injury, yet was still inspired by his team. “I had to not give up,” Turner said. “You don’t give up, the Bulldogs didn’t give up… If they can do it, then certainly I can do it.”

Miracle 3 doesn’t overlook the SEC and their administrative staff who tirelessly worked behind the scenes to make the tournament run smoothly, who “enabled” the miracle. Much like a parent with outstretched arms, helping a child ride a bicycle for the first time, keeping their hands within reach to catch them if they loose their balance or stumble, yet completely unaware of the assistance. Those arms allowed the Georgia Bulldogs, coaching staff, fans and their belief to do the rest.

Miracle 3 is slated to air on Sunday, March 3, at 5 p.m. EST on ESPN and at 8 p.m. EST on ESPNU.

Using a stifling defensive effort, No. 1 Kentucky breezed past Georgia 57-44 to improve to 20-1 on the season. Kentucky has now won 12 straight after its loss to Indiana on Dec. 10.

The Wildcats kept Georgia out of an offensive rhythm all night. The Bulldogs shot 34.5 percent from the field and were outrebounded 39-18. When you add in that Georgia went to the free throw line just three times, it was a truly dismal performance for the Bulldogs.

While Kentucky didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard either, Darius Miller came off the bench to be one of the few productive players with the ball all night. Miller went 7-for-8 from the field and finished with 19 points.

Although he doesn’t start, Miller can be the team’s most important player on some nights for the Wildcats.

From The Courier-Journal:

“I know there’s times when I’m going to have to step up,” Miller said. “All the guys feel the same way. If you go and look back, it’s been different guys every game. … We’re all happy with that. The guys did a good job looking for me when they knew I was hitting.

“We have so many weapons, we feel like any guy could go off any day.”

Kentucky has gained the respect of the voters, but its dominance is still going somewhat unnoticed. Its only loss was by one-point and all but five of their games have been double-digit victories. If Christian Watford’s three-pointer doesn’t go in at the buzzer for Indiana, the Wildcats are undefeated right now.

Of the top-five schools, four are familiar names with the odd one out normally known as a football powerhouse. Might be time to change that label. And, no, surprisingly Kentucky doesn’t make the list, as they currently have no players projected to be drafted in 2011 (and a few for 2012). But if Enes Kanter can somehow get himself eligible to play this season, that would change real quick.

After having 10 players drafted in the previous five NBA Drafts, UCLA was shut out in 2010 with no players being snatched up by the League. It looks like things will be back to normal this season in L.A., as the Bruins have two players currently projected to be first rounders come next June. Sophomore small forward Tyler Honeycutt leads the way. While his stats last year don’t jump off the page (about 7 points and 7 boards a game), scouts love his potential due to his size (6-8), length, shooting touch and athletic ability. Big things are expected of him this season. Teammate Malcolm Lee, a junior combo guard, is also considered a first round prospect. He is a solid defender but needs to work on his outside shot.

Here is that “football powerhouse” that we alluded to earlier. While the pigskin might rule the Georgia campus, don’t forget that the Georgia Bulldogs hoops program gave the basketball world Dominique Wilkins. While current Georgia prospects Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie aren’t quite on ‘Nique’s level (but who is, really?), they both look to be nice prospects. You can read what we wrote about them a couple of months ago right here.

The Tar Heels are hoping to be able to forget ’09-10 when they lost 17 games, and look ahead to a far more successful ’11-12 campaign. They definitely will be talented, but young. Their best pro prospect is also the 2011 Draft’s best prospect — freshman wing Harrison Barnes, who we wrote about here. They also have another high first round prospect in John Henson who, despite his underwhelming freshman season, is still considered full of pro potential.

Kansas will also be looking to have a bounce-back season after last year’s talented, veteran-laden team got upset in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Northern Iowa. As the long list of NBA prospects noted above shows, a shortage of talent shouldn’t be a problem. NBA prospect wise, they are led by athletic, freshman combo guard Josh Selby and the best of the Morris twins, Marcus.

This ought to bring out the haters once again — Duke ends up at the top spot of this ranking, also. But facts are facts — the Blue Devils currently have two lottery prospects, two first round prospects and two second round prospects on their roster. Potential top-three pick Kyrie Irving, a freshman combo guard, leads the way and is probably the only Duke prospect with NBA “star” potential. Not only is Duke the favorite to repeat as NCAA Champs next spring, they also should be the most popular team amongst NBA scouts and GMs.

The Man in the Moon was eclipsed for a few days, digesting the results of the first round of the Big Polka … and for fans of teams like, say, Ohio State, that digestion required some serious help from Pepto-Bismol, or perhaps a margarita or five.

But now we’re into the Sweet 16, the land where Cinderellas go to die, so the big kids on the block don’t have to worry about the little sisters any more. Or do they?

SACRAMENTO

The first game Saturday night matches two of the perennials in the women’s game, Georgia and Stanford – but the stories are a bit different.

Stanford and Tara VanDerveer have adjusted quite nicely to life in the latter half of the first decade of the 21st century, and their 34-game schedule is blemished only by a loss to some team from Connecticut. With Jayne Appel hampered by injuries, the likely No. 2 overall pick in the WNBA Draft is just the third best player on her team, behind power forward Nneka Ogwumike and 6-4 “small” forward Kayla Pedersen.

Georgia, on the other hand, has been on the decline, as Andy Landers hasn’t really changed too much over the years. His plan has always been to recruit like crazy, scream at his kids during games and win on sheer talent. Lately, though, he hasn’t had the talent advantage he had in the past and after a blistering start, the Bulldogs went 5-7 down the stretch before beating 12 seed Tulane by five and knocking off the Oklahoma State Rileys in overtime.

Allison Hightower is the real deal, but it’s hard to see Stanford losing this one – not only are the Cardinal the better team, they are a mere 100 miles from home and should have a few thousand fans in otherwise empty Arco Arena.

The late game is a rematch from last year’s tournament, when Gonzaga upset Xavier in the first round. This time, they meet in the Sweet 16, and once again, Gonzaga is the underdog. But the seventh-seeded Bulldogs have played two of the most exciting games in the tournament so far, slipping past North Carolina and No. 2 seed Texas A&M to get to the Sweet 16. They rely on the sterling point guard play of Courtney Vandersloot and a bevy of long, skilled and not necessarily blindingly quick wings – oh, and there’s that three-point shooter, Tiffanie Shives.

Xavier has Ta’Shia Phillips on the inside and Amber Harris wherever she wants, a combination that’s almost impossible to guard. The 29-3 Musketeers are the No. 3 seed, and should be favored, except for the fact that they’re on the West Coast and playing at 11:30 p.m. East Coast time. The Zags are hoping for a quadruple overtime in the first game so that Xavier will wind up playing at 3 a.m. body-clock time, and thus fall prey to Gonzaga’s uptempo style.

It says here that the late night does in the X-Women, Stanford thumps Georgia, and then, in the Elite Eight, Gonzaga goes back to Spokane on a pumpkin.

KANSAS CITY

Up in orbit, it looked like Nebraska would be vulnerable to UCLA, but the Cornhuskers rolled into Sunday’s late game after a relatively easy win. Kentucky, their opponent, also had an easy time, as the Wildcats got to play a Big 10 team – which is almost like drawing a bye. Liberty made Kentucky work a lot harder than Michigan State did, and Nebraska will be the biggest challenge the Wildcats have faced since playing Tennessee – and they lost to them by 16 and 18.

Nebraska, though, didn’t have the toughest Big 12 schedule, and there more than a few who thought Big Red should have been the fourth-best No. 1 seed instead of third. The semi-home court may help, though it may also be hard for local fans to bring themselves to root for Nebraska to do anything but crash and burn.

Oklahoma will present the same quandary for Missouri ticketbuyers, but the biggest problem for the Sooners will be Notre Dame. Irish coach Muffet McGraw is known for her postseason magic, and she’s got freshman sensation Skylar Diggins to lead her 29-5 team.

It’s no accident Oklahoma has twice as many losses, and the Sooners will be 25-11 after this one – and then the Irish will take down Nebraska and move on to the Final Four.

MEMPHIS

This is not the Tennessee of myth and legend, as the Volunteers don’t have a point guard and don’t have overwhelming talent. They are also very young, but then again Pat Summit has won 106 NCAA tournament games – yes, that’s right, 106 tournament games – so she has an idea of what to do at this level.

Tennessee also got eliminated in the first round last year, a whip that Summit has not been shy about applying to her sometimes struggling charges. Still, there are only two losses on the season, and the Volunteers won their first two tourney games by a total 61 points, so they’re playing pretty well right now.

Baylor didn’t play at all well in Berkeley, really, especially a brutally ugly 49-33 win over hapless Georgetown. In a way, though, that’s good news, because a team will always have a bad game in the tournament, and the trick is to win it. Well, thanks to Brittney Griner blocking 13 shots in the second half (yes, the second half), the Bears survived to play again.

Now they get Tennessee, a team they lost to in the first game of the season, and Griner has had a full season of college basketball. Call this an upset special, as the MitM fairly glows with the thought of Baylor in Indianapolis.

Of course, even after beating Tennessee, Baylor will have to get by the winner of Duke and San Diego State – and the Bears will have to battle to beat the Blue Devils. Yes, San Diego State has been impressive, but they’ve only beaten two decent but unspectacular BCS teams (underachieving Texas and play-no-one West Virginia) to get this far. Duke will shut down the Aztecs on defense, and get more than enough offense to roll into Monday’s final against Baylor.

Once there, though, the long arms of Brittney Griner will change everything, and Baylor will win close and late.

Dayton

Oh, excuse me, I drifted off there for a second …

Isn’t UConn in this bracket? So is there a reason to pay attention?

In a word, no. Iowa State barely got by Green Bay, and would have to make 80 percent of its threes to hang with the Huskies, who are better in every department.

So much for the early game Sunday. The late game will pit Florida State and Mississippi State in a battle that features two players fighting for first-round recognition in the WNBA draft: FSU’s Jacinta Monroe and MSU’s Alexis Rack. Florida State will probably win, but watch out for Mississippi State’s Congo connection – and of course, Rack, who could explode for 30 with hardly any provocation.

Then, of course, the winner advances to play UConn on Tuesday, and … sorry, my eyes sort of glazed over then.

What were we talking about?

INDIANAPOLIS

Wait ‘till next week, and the MitM will be Dead Wrong in Public once more. Until then, wake me when Connecticut isn’t playing.

To read more from Clay Kallam, and more about women’s basketball, go to Full Court Press.

Longtime frequenters of The Links understand that historically, this is not a space for those who enjoy college basketball. Sure, I get into it a little during March Madness — I’m not a total hater — but on the whole, during the regular season I am not much of a college hoops fan. For the most part, the level of basketball played isn’t close when compared to the NBA. But I enjoy watching the really good players play. And the spirit of the games, the rivalries, that stuff I can definitely appreciate.

I grew up just a few miles from Georgia Tech, and my Dad and I went to plenty of games during the Bobby Cremins era. Tech plays in a small gym — the capacity now is just over 9,000, but it was even smaller when I was a kid — and when it’s packed and rocking, it’s a pretty incredible environment to be in for a game. (I was actually at this game, which was pretty memorable.)

When I went off to college at the University of Georgia, there wasn’t much of a basketball culture. Sure, Dominique had played there many years earlier, and UGA had actually been to the Final Four in 1983, when NC State ended up winning it all. But UGA is in the SEC, and the SEC has always been — and probably always will be — a football conference. Still, when I was at UGA, Tubby Smith was coaching the basketball team, and students and fans were really into the team. But then Tubby left for Kentucky, the only SEC school where basketball is truly king, and his successors, including Ron Jirsa, Jim Harrick and Dennis Felton, couldn’t build any lasting hoops momentum in Athens.

Last summer the Dawgs hired Mark Fox as their new coach. He’d been at Nevada previously, and I’d been so wrapped up in NBA hoops that I knew absolutely nothing about him. After one year as coach, I still don’t know much about him, other than he uses the triangle offense and that UGA had a much better year than anyone expected. UGA fans are starting to get excited about basketball again, and as a UGA fan and a basketball fan, Coach Fox has my interest piqued.

The only other thing I know about Coach Fox is that he is apparently good at trick shots. I learned this a few weeks ago when I saw Coach Fox make this trick shot on ESPN’s Top 10 plays.

The ESPN guys mentioned this shot had been posted on the blog of a UGA walk-on named Connor Nolte. I dutifully looked up the blog, read through it, found it interesting, then went on with my life watching NBA games.

Then during a Hawks game a few weeks ago I was tweeting thoughts and sorting through @replies on Twitter and noticed one from Connor Nolte. Yeah, the same Connor Nolte.

So Connor and I got in touch and have been emailing ever since. And now The Links has a college basketball expert. And not only a college hoops expert, but one who actually, you know, plays major college basketball. Ladies and gents, Connor Nolte:

LANG: OK, first things first: Any relation to Nick?

CONNOR: No relation to Nick Nolte. I did have a Spanish teacher in high school accidentally call me Nick once a week for the entire school year, though. If I was related, it would probably make being a walk-on a lot easier. I gave up a D1 scholarship worth $60,000 a year to play here at UGA. Best decision I’ve ever made in my life, but I definitely had to make a few changes with my spending habits.

I know you went to Milton High School just outside Atlanta. Are you a Hawks fan?

I’m actually not a Hawks fan at all. [Editor’s Note: Sigh.] I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and have been a Bucks fan my whole life. I moved to the south when I was 8, but I never converted. And I remember the glory days of 2001 when the Bucks had guys like Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell and, of course, current UGA basketball Director of Operations Mark Pope. My dad, brother and I drove up to see them play in Charlotte in the Playoffs. I actually did go to the Hawks/Bucks game a few weeks ago in Atlanta to see the Hawks win in OT. My sister made the Georgia Tech intramural All-Star team and played on the Philips Arena court after the game.

You started off at Furman before transferring to UGA. How did that come about? Did you grow up a UGA fan?

Same as the Hawks question: I grew up a Wisconsin fan and still cheer for the Badgers…unless of course they play UGA in anything. When I was a Junior in high school I was getting recruiting mail from all kinds of schools. I made a list of places that had good academics, good basketball teams, were close to home and places I thought I could get immediate playing time. Furman was at the top of the list: Great academics — at the time they were probably one of the top 4 teams in the SoCon — just over 2 hours away, and they were graduating five guys, so I knew I’d have a chance to make an immediate impact. Furman was the first school to offer me, and since they were no. 1 on my list, I accepted the offer in July before my senior year of high school. Looking back on the senior year that I had, its safe to say I would have had a number of offers to choose from but at the time I thought Furman was my dream school. I was playing 20 minutes a game but I was miserable there. The coach was a different person than the coach I had talked to when I was being recruited. I didn’t like the fact that the school was so small. With 2,500 it felt like I was in high school all over again.

I decided I wanted to give my dream of playing big time college basketball one last shot. I knew that three years down the road when I was sitting at my desk at work I would have seriously regretted not trying to transfer and make the most out of my college experience. I asked for my release before talking to any other schools and Coach Fox hadn’t even been hired here yet. Georgia Tech was interested in me walking on but since my senior year of high school I wanted to play at UGA. Once Coach Fox got hired and finally settled into the job here in Athens, I met with him. He offered me a spot on the team as a walk-on and I let him know the next day that I wanted it. It’s pretty amazing how it all worked out. I thank God every day.

Georgia Tech has more of a basketball history and culture than UGA, so it’s interesting to me you chose UGA instead of Tech. I love UGA and the SEC, but the ACC is a better basketball conference, isn’t it?

My decision to go to UGA instead of Georgia Tech was puzzling to some people. Its true that the ACC is a more prestigious basketball conference than the SEC, but after meeting with Coach Fox I knew that something special was in the making at UGA. GT had a huge recruiting class coming in and it didn’t look like there would be much of an opportunity to battle for playing time. I really liked Coach Fox and his staff and the direction the program was heading.

The situation at UGA kind of reminds me of high school. I went to Milton High School, a school with practically no basketball history. As a 3 year starter on varsity we went to 3 straight State tournaments and 2 sweet sixteens. My brother plays there now and has played in 2 state championships in 2 years. I really think that UGA basketball is headed in an exciting direction and I’m looking forward to doing my part (whatever that may be) over the next two years to help the program.

What exactly does it mean to be a redshirt? You practice but you don’t play?

The NCAA has a rule that requires all players that transfer between D1 school to redshirt. This means that I’m not allowed to dress out for games or travel with the team to away games. This year we had another transfer, Gerald Robinson Jr., and he and I went through the process together. In practice we were on the scout team, emulating our upcoming opponents. One thing redshirt guys do is game day workouts. Since we weren’t going to be playing in the games, after our team shootaround, we did a skills workout while the rest of the team was chowing down on pregame meal. Transfer redshirts aren’t allowed to travel with the team. This left me with some free time I wasn’t used to having. I spent some of that working on my blog and am planning a series for the offseason that gets into more details on the life of a redshirt.

What’s the most fun thing about playing college basketball?

There are so many things I love about playing college basketball that I don’t know where to start. One of my favorite things is that I get to be a good role model for kids in the area. We got to read to elementary school kids the other day and that was great. I’ve been asked to speak at a few middle school FCA meetings. I remember how much I looked up to high school and college athletes when I was that age and that’s why I love doing that sort of thing so much.

How did you start your blog? Why did you start your blog?

Despite what a lot of people thing, I did not copy Mark Titus of Ohio State. His blog, Club Trillion, is one of the best sites on the web. but I actually started blogging almost a year before him. I’ve always been into technology and spent a lot of time on the internet. My freshman year we played Kenny George and UNC-Asheville, and their point guard Bryan Smithson had a blog. I thought it was a good idea. I decided to start my own to give fans an inside look into the life of a college basketball player. It has evolved a great deal and this season it really got a lot of press from my Game Day Trick Shot series. I accidentally caught a graduate assistant making a trick shot on camera and it turned into a game day tradition that included Coach Richt from the football team:

, Coach Fox and even Charles Barkley…

I saw you named your blog a phrase on Basketbawful.com. Do you read a lot of hoops sites? Do college athletes read a lot of hoops sites?

Basketbawful has some hilarious “word of the day” posts. Thanks to the fact that I finally have Internet on my phone (a blackberry, get out of here with that iPhone nonsense), I spend way too much time on twitter and random blogs. I follow college hoops more than the NBA but I definitely like Basketbawful.com. I was an NBA hater for most of high school and while I don’t hate it anymore, I still enjoy Basketbawful pointing out the worst of the worst from the League.

Road trips always have a lot of down time. I know that’s when a lot of college basketball players check out different hoops sites, watch highlights online, etc.

I had enough problems at UGA just being a student, so how tough is it to be a student-athlete?

One thing that’s great about UGA is we have an amazing support system. We have a building devoted to student athlete academics and tutors are available for everything. I’ve always been a good student and have been able to handle athletics and academics pretty well for my college career. What’s the future hold for you after UGA? Well, I’m a Marketing major here at UGA and I’d love to do some kind of sports marketing. I’ve also thought about getting into Coaching. I will hopefully be interning in the sports marketing field this summer and get a taste of what that’s like. Ideally I want to work in the marketing department of a professional sports franchise or with a sports magazine or television station.

The Sweet Sixteen tips off tonight. You guys played Kentucky twice this year, so whats your take on the teams that are left? And did you do a bracket? Are you allowed to?

We are allowed to fill out brackets, just not enter them into pools for prizes. I have West Virginia, Duke, Syracuse, and Ohio State in my Final Four. I will say that if I could do it over again I would put Kentucky into the Final Four. They are SO talented and are very hot right now. I think they will be hard to beat for the rest of the tournament. I’d never count out Duke though. I think Duke-Kentucky would be a great matchup in the Final Four.

Finally, can you send me some food from Zaxby’s?

I can’t send you Zaxby’s BUT I might consider sending you some Chicken from Raisin’ Canes. I don’t work for them and am not getting paid for this in any way but its a place here in Athens that is Zaxby’s only better. Better Chicken, better sweet tea, better fries, WAAAAYYYYY better toast. They do a promotion at basketball games. If we hit 5 or more threes then all combo’s are buy one get one free. There’s a chance we put them out of business before I graduate after 2 more seasons.

Marc Schlabach is reporting that former Memphis Tiger Robert Dozier cheated on the SAT exam. Schlabach, a Georgia grad, says UGA denied Dozier admission after he scored a 720 on his second attempt — 540 points lower than his earlier score — suggesting a “stand in” initially took the test for Dozier. He ended up at Memphis, where he helped lead the Tigers to the 2008 Final Four. If the NCAA Committee on Infractions finds that John Calipari, or a member of his former staff, played a role in these standardized test infractions, harsh penalties will certainly follow.